I won’t provide background information on Eminem because if you have a computer and/or talk to human beings on a regular basis, you’ve heard of him. My opinion on Marshall Mathers is a very small drop in a double fucking ocean. However, those hip-hop fans who are not as devoted as may have missed out on hearing one of Shady’s first releases. It was released in 1996 to, uh, not much reaction. I believe reading somewhere that 1,000 or so copies were pressed, which is retarded when you consider how much he’s blown up since. If an Eminem album sold 1,000 copies today, it would be intergalactic news. But this is from a purer time, when teens wore goofy clothes and kids drank tang. Eminem got a lot of shit for sounding like Nas and AZ on this record, and some of that was deserved, but think for a second: “Wasn’t Illmatic pretty good?”
1. Infinite
I’ll get the bias out of the way early – this is one of my favorite songs. Is it perfect? Hell no. The audio quality is low even on an album that is decidedly lo-fi. But the rhymes. Oh my, the rhymes. Even the chorus is catchy in a wordy sort of way. The beat consists of a simple boom bap featuring a very flat snare, a bass line that wants to wants to be menacing when it grows up and a monotone hit that I can’t really identify. Just sit down with a copy of the lyrics and listen to it a couple of times. If you don’t like it, well, we have our differences. I love this song, the rhymes are some of the best I’ve ever heard and the beat sounds pretty nice if you have a decent system.
2. W.E.G.O. (ft. Proof & DJ Head)
This is a little nonsense skit. The beat in the back is the beat to “Infinite” after maturing a little bit. I’ve never heard of DJ Head, but Big Proof is notable for being part of D12, working with J Dilla for a bit (I have a devout love for everything J Dilla has ever done. It’s like how a 16-year old suburban white kid feels about Eminem or Weezy. Whatever.) and being absolutely loved by Detroit. Honestly, the number of times that I have read “R.I.P. Big Proof” is ridic. Oh, and he was in 8-Mile. Proof also name checks “Soul Intent”, which shows how damn old this is.
3. It’s OK (ft. Eye-Kyu)
For a low budget, indie label baby out of the 90s, the hooks are pretty nice so far. This one is particularly inspiring, featuring Detroit rapper and onetime D12 member Eye-Kyu (pronounced as “I.Q.”) Only two deep so far, but still impressive. Eminem keeps up his level of spittin’. The beat follows the formula of the first song to a T, albeit with a slightly more adventurous bass.
4. 313 (ft. Eye-Kyu)
Another Eye-Kyu song? But where’s (RIP) Proof? I’ll admit, he sounds pretty good here. Very similar to whitey, who doesn’t sound as good here. He sounds talented, yeah, but it sounds forced. Eminem’s braggadocio is best when unprovoked. That said, this song has some funnier moments that are more suited to actual battles than his previous lyrics. The chorus sucks, and the saxophone in the background sounds pretty goofy and a little lost. “I belong on a Pete Rock beat, damn it! Bring me to Pete Rock!”
5. Tonite
If you don’t like the first four beats, uh, good luck. They’re all the same so far. The rhymes here are pretty excellent here, and I got a little laugh out of Em’s pronunciation of “represent” to fit the rhyme, but the rest of the track is so tight that he gets a pass in my opinion. The hook is a little weak here, but refrains have never exactly been MM’s specialty. This will be the first and not the last time I mention this: why the fuck doesn’t Eminem rap like this anymore. As a student of the game I feel cheated. I know the actual reason: “Eminem met Dre, made him a little more commercially viable, changed up his flow and subject matter, blah blah blah” but once he was good, why didn’t he go back to his original stylings? This shit is so good! Fuck! Not that I don’t love The Slim Shady LP, but this? Too good.
6. Maxine (ft. Mr. Porter & Three)
A song about dirty hoes, in nicer words. Mr. Porter has made it as a fairly successful producer to this day, but who the fuck is Three? This song makes me sleepy which sucks because I would almost definitely dream about sluts and AIDS and creepy shit. I prefer my dreams be lighter and more fun.
7. Open Mic
Oh my fucking God, who does the chorus on this song? It sounds like Three from the previous song, and if it is I’m glad he never caught on. It’s abominable. Eminem is doing his thing on the mic with more battle rhymes than the average sucka mc could handle, and then every 16 bars we’re subjected to the sound of a back alley abortion. In other news, I’m not fond of the hook. Cover your ears at 3:20.
8. Never 2 Far
One of my favorite songs on the album. It has an actual melody at times and it has a theme that almost everyone can relate to. Listening to this is honestly like chilling on a rainy day while the sun is just about to come up; it just has the perfect "everything will be ok" vibe.
9. Searchin’ (ft. Eye-Kyu)
A love song, of sorts. I’m almost certain the un-credited woman singing the hook is Dina Rae, the woman who sings on “Cum On Everybody” and “Drug Ballad”, two of MMs later songs. It’s nice but kind of contrived.
10. Backstabber (ft. Proof)
This is a redo of a Soul Intent song, “Fuckin’ Backstabber”. Soul Intent, for those of you who don’t know, was a group consisting of Eminem and some other Detroit basement rats. It’s a goofy as shit concept song but that’s all it wants to be, so it works. I still quote this song sometimes around my friends when we’re listening to Eminem. Nobody gets it.
11. Jealousy Woes II
Another about women. Some decently quotable lines and the crooning on the chorus is oddly nice. What’s not nice is the sped up voice (Eminem?) bitching out Eminem. It’s nice to hear Marshall ripping on himself and it’s funnier to hear him rapping about bitches; it means he’s been doing this shit all night, even before “Kim”. It’s refreshing for me that he’s kept one thing constant through all of his accents and weird stunts (Bruno, blond hair, “Rain Man”)
You really have to listen to this album, regardless of the snarky shit I have to say or whatever you think about Eminem, to get the full impact of it. It’s not Eminem like the typical person knows Eminem; it’s a rawer, more honest Eminem who doesn’t rely on gimmicks and shock value. Granted, Old Eminem never got signed to a major label deal, and New Eminem is often brought up in the conversation of “Greatest Rapper of All Time”. This quote from a Cunninlynguists’ song (616 Rewind, to be specific) sums it up: “The Source’ll be forced to make ‘The Quotables’ a three page fold-out.” Lot of quotability, not a lot of production value.
Best Tracks: “Infinite”, “It’s OK”, “Never 2 Far”
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